It’s cold and flu season. When I’m feeling under the weather I crave Hot and Sour soup. It’s not easy to find a vegetarian version at a Chinese takeout, so I have to make my own.
Since I’m cooking it in the slow cooker I can go back to bed and get some rest so I can get better fast!
This is also a good soup to make when you just don’t feel like going out. Most of the ingredients I keep on hand in my pantry or freezer.
I love Trader Joe’s frozen cubes of garlic, ginger, cilantro, and basil for just this sort of thing.
Silken tofu keeps for almost a year in the packaging that Mori-Nu uses. Check the date when you are stocking up.
Table of Contents
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Slow Cooker Vegan Hot and Sour Soup
Ingredients
- 1 package silken tofu cubed
- use regular tofu if you don’t have any silken
- 2 cups No chicken broth
- vegetarian – you can substitute regular veggie broth and add a tsp. of nutritional yeast
- 2 cups water
- 1 Tb Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base, Vegetarian
- I know it seems redundant, but this paste adds extra richness and depth
- 1/2 package of sliced button mushrooms
- 8 dried shitakes
- 1 can bamboo shoots cut into thin strips
- 3 garlic cloves. minced or crushed
- 2 Tb fresh ginger minced or grated (do not use ginger powder!)
- 2 Tb soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp chili paste
- 2 Tb rice wine vinegar
- Use apple cider vinegar in a pinch
- 1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh peas
Instructions
- The night before:
- Slice mushrooms and bamboo shoots.
- Mince garlic and ginger.
- Cube silken tofu.
- Store in fridge to use in the morning.
- In the morning:
- Add everything except peas into the slow cooker and cook on low 8 hours.
- Before Serving:
- Add the peas to the slow cooker, and add more vinegar and chili if needed.
- Pour a few drop of sesame oil on top of each serving. If you like it milder and your friends like it hot, serve chili paste on the side.
Nutrition
Calories: 874kcalCarbohydrates: 100gProtein: 64gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 5272mgFiber: 23gSugar: 34g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
plantmade says
I’m curious if there is a way to make this not in a slow cooker.
Kathy Hester (geekypoet) says
I’m sure there is, but I have not made it on the stove. I would start by using less garlic and ginger since you won’t be cooking it as long – maybe cut it in half and start from there.
I’d just add hot water to the dried shitakes and then saute the veggies and add the rest of the ingredients and cook until hot. You will also need less liquid and probably a thickener like corn starch (or your favorite thickener).
It’s not a proper recipes, but it should give you a start in the right direction. I’ll post it if I ever make it on the stove. I just find it easy to make it in the slow cooker. Good luck!
plantmade says
Great thanks!! I’m definitely going to give it a try!
Katharine in Brussels says
Dear Kathy, thanks for the recipe, it’s just starting its transformation in my slow cooker to accompany a Chinese dinner tonight. This is my second (practically third) recipe from you already today, and it’s only 10 am! The first was pumpkin pie oatmeal, made with pumpkin purée following your slow cooker instructions (and baited breath–it worked out perfectly though, of course–just seemed so different). By the way, I didn’t even purée the pumpkin, just added the cooked and cooled pumpkin flesh to my slow cooker. With overnight cooking and a good stir it was perfect in the morning–how nice to wake up to a hot breakfast! My toddler son asked for seconds–with no sugar added. And finally, you also inspired the purchase of my slow cookers. After my round one went kaput, following your advice I got a large oval one for versatility, and yesterday got a small 1.5L one for breakfast. It had to be special ordered from the UK, and is the smallest one that I’m aware of in Europe! I’ve never met anyone IRL who had more than one slow cooker. But your slow cooker book and blog convinced me to give it a try–and they’re fantastic. You’re right, a small slow cooker kept the oat groats (no steel cut here) from drying out. Thank you so much for your generous commitment to healthy vegan slow cooking. Happy holidays and Happy New Year!
Katharine in Brussels says
Hi Kathy, is my comment from 21 Dec 2013 stil awaiting moderation? Or did it get lost in email?
Kathy Hester says
Sorry – I went back in and it was sandwiched in lots of spam. So sorry I missed it before!
Cindy says
I made this for dinner tonight, apprehensive because we have never found a recipe that quite matches what we get in a restaurant. This was super!!! I did not have shitake so I just used more mushrooms, used half the tofu called for and omitted the peas (mainly because I cannot remember peas in it in a restaurant). I put everything in the crock pot the night before and then let this cook all day. This is so great I am emailing it to all my friends and I put a link to it on my web site so I can refer people here often. Thanks for the great vegan recipe!
Jennifer says
I was wondering what kind of chili paste you used. There are so many! Sambal Oelek, gochujang, nam prik pao, la jiao jiang, sriracha, sambal balacan, etc. Please elaborate. Thank you.
Kathy Hester says
I used an Asian sauce that’s labeled chili-garlic sauce, but your favorite or whatever you have on hand should work okay too!
JoAnn M Lakes says
Any chance this can be done with pressure in the instant pot?
Kathy Hester says
Yes, but this is a guesstimate. I’d saute the mushrooms first, add the rest of the ingredients (except for the before serving ingredients) and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Let the pressure release manually for 10 minutes, then manually release it the rest of the way.
Mary Morris says
I know this is dumb, but I’m really new to the InstantPot. I know it has a slow cooker function – can that be used as the slow cooker for this recipe? THANK YOU!!
Kathy Hester says
Not dumb at all – the slow cooker function would work great with this recipe!